LibriVox recording of Once on a Time, by A. A. Milne.

This version of the book is done as a Dramatic Reading with various people speaking each characters part.

When the King of Barodia receives a pair of seven-league boots as a birthday present, his habit of flying over the King of Euralia's castle during breakfast provokes a series of incidents which escalate into war. While the King of Euralia is away, his daughter Hyacinth tries to rule in his stead and counter the machiavellian ambitions of the king's favourite, the Countess Belvane. Ostensibly a typical fairytale, it tells the story of the war between the kingdoms of Euralia and Barodia and the political shenanigans which take place in Euralia in the king's absence. The book introduces us to a princess who is far from helpless; a prince who, whilst handsome, is also pompous and vain; an enchantment which is almost entirely humorous; a villain who is not entirely villainous and receives no real comeuppance; a good king who isn't always good; an evil king who isn't always evil, and so on. The result is a book which children may not enjoy as much as adults. The book was written by Milne partly for his wife, upon whom the character of the Countess Belvane was partially based. (Summary from Wikipedia)

Cast:

Narration: Bob Neufeld
King Merriwig: Mark F. Smith
Princess Hyacinth: Karen Savage
Countess Belvane: Catharine Eastman
Prince Udo: Peter Eastman
Duke Coronel: Glenn Simonsen
Wiggs: Arielle Lipshaw
Woggs: Karen Savage
King of Barodia: Roger Melin
Chancellor of Barodia: Robert Keiper
Chancellor of Euralia: Denny Sayers
Fairy: Neeru Iyer
Old Woman: Catharine Eastman
Attendant: Arielle Lipshaw
Carlo, Men of Euralia, Captain of Archers, Flunkey: David Lawrence
Lookout, Cautious voice, Messenger, Wizard, Sentry: Barry Eads

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This audio is part of the collection: The LibriVox Free Audiobook Collection
It also belongs to collections: Audio Books & Poetry; Community Audio

Artist/Composer: A. A. Milne
Date: 2010-08-31
Source: Librivox recording of a public-domain text
Keywords: librivox; literature; audiobook; humor; fairy tales; fantasy

Creative Commons license: Attribution 3.0

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Reviewer: Lucy_k_p - - October 20, 2010
Subject: Well read and very entertaining
Each person plays their part to perfection and having different people play each character brings the story to life.

This is a humorous tale, refreshingly different from a typical fairytale.